Tomatoes . simple-minded name , but oh , what a delicacy ! If you ’ve never had one impertinent from the vine , imagine the juiciest , most vibrant sapidity you’re able to remember of — rich , tangy , and sweet , with a little hint of earthiness that makes you marvel how something so good could come from dirt . Tomatoes are the MVP of the garden , pass down .
They maturate like a dream in the summertime , with vines that seem to stretch toward the sun , collapse with bright , ripe fruit in a rainbow of colour . And the good part ? They do n’t need much to flourish — just some sunlight , regular tearing , and a bit of love . ( Okay , maybe do n’t bury the occasional mite to encourage more development . )
But , here ’s the thing : do n’t await them to just show up without a little solitaire . You ’ll have to hold back for them to ripen , and trust me , it ’s altogether worth it . The first summer will be all about watch those little green orbs originate into something wizard . By the second , they ’ll be much begging you to deplete them .
Tomatoes are as various as they come — throw them in a salad , make sauce , or just slice them up with a little salinity and olive oil . And if you ’re into thewhole health thing , they ’re pile with vitamin , antioxidant , and all that good poppycock . Plus , growing your own tomatoes feels like the ultimate flex .
How to Grow Tomatoes
Lycopersicon esculentum are a popular garden plant life that can be grown successfully in many climates . Below is a usher to facilitate you found , produce , and harvest tomato plant .
Planting Tomatoes
Growing Tomatoes
Harvesting Tomatoes
Tomatoes Growing Zone
Lycopersicon esculentum are in general grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 2 through 11 , depending on the variety . However , the most common develop zone for tomato are Zones 3 to 10 , where the climate is warm enough for optimum ontogeny .
Here ’s a quick guide :
Be sure to prefer tomato varieties that are well - suited to your specific zone to ensure a successful harvest home . Tomatoes can also begrown in spate .
Growing Tomatoes FAQ
Tomatoes should be planted after the last frost escort in your area . They thrive in warm conditions , so implant in later outpouring or early summertime is ideal .
Use stakes , cages , or trellises to support your love apple plant as they produce . This keeps the fruit off the land , repress the peril of disease , and makes harvesting easier .
Depending on the variety , tomatoes normally take 60 to 85 daytime from transplanting to ripen . undetermined variety will continue to raise fruit until frost , while definitive varieties will get most of their fruit in a shortsighted period of time .
Start by prefer a large batch , at least 14 inches in diameter . Select a tomato variety suited for container gardening , such as determinate or dwarf types . invest the quite a little in a sunny location . weewee on a regular basis to keep the soil systematically moist but not waterlogged , and consider using a tomato coop or stakes for support as the plant grows .
commence by take mellow - quality seeds and planting them in germ - protrude trays . Plant the seeds about 1/4 inch deep , and keep the territory consistently moist but not waterlogged . Place the trays in a warm location with temperatures between 70 - 80 ° F ( 21 - 27 ° ascorbic acid ) , ideally using a heating plant flatness if necessary . Provide the seedling with 14 - 16 hours of bright light day by day , either from a sunny windowpane or using grow Inner Light .
On average , a healthy Lycopersicon esculentum plant can produce anywhere from 10 to 30 pounds of tomato plant over the grow season , which translates to roughly 20 to 90 individual tomatoes per plant .
tomato by and large choose full Sunday , which means they need at least 6 - 8 hours of unmediated sunshine each daytime to thrive and give rise the upright yields .